By ELEANOR BLACK
Gisborne is one town that could do with a damn good party.
It is no secret that 2000 has been a tough year for a district that prides itself on optimism, with cancer scares, gang conflict and economic hard times grabbing headlines.
Even the hugely hyped $4 million-plus millennium celebrations with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the first sunrise of 2000 failed to bring the expected crowds and retail windfall.
So, instead of throwing a huge party for a bunch of unappreciative out-of-towners, the community's 46,600 people are getting back to basics.
The so-called real millennium (astronomers say last year's celebration was premature) will be a celebration of what Gisborne is known for - sun, sand and surf. No frills, no drama.
"We are looking to do more of the things we did in previous summers," said Mayor John Clarke, who admitted that unprecedented media focus on Gisborne last time actually put off the family groups and urban couples who have traditionally been the backbone of the summer season.
Most of the 80,000 visitors turned up just before New Year's Eve and left soon after, leaving a trail of champagne corks.
This year, event organisers hope to entice visitors into extending their stay by taking advantage of the region's largely undiscovered pleasures.
Volunteers are organising the three-day, three-night Tuia festival, an earthy concoction of live music, street theatre, fireworks, good kai and a healthy dose of spirituality to offset the revelry.
The brainchild of Canadian import Rick Mansell (who fell in love with an East Coast woman before succumbing to the charms of the local landscape), the festival designed as a one-off last year looks likely to become a lasting tradition.
With four months to go, arrangements for the council-funded, $200,000 celebrations have not been finalised, but then people here are known for leaving things to the last minute.
Motel Association branch president Stewart Haynes is confident that the crowds will arrive, but thinks the composition will be vastly different from last year's exotic mix of foreigners and TV crews.
Party to cure Gisborne's millennium blues
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